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harry potter - Did Dumbledore ever trust Hagrid with his life?


In the very first chapter of the very first book, we observe the following exchange between Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore:



"You think it -- wise -- to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"


"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.



Whew. Quite the bit of foreshadowing there! I mean, you can't say something like that, and then not have it happen somewhere in the series. It's basic storycraft, Chekhov's Gun material.


But as far as I can recall, he never actually did trust Hagrid with his life. When Dumbledore's life was at serious risk in "Half-Blood Prince", he put his trust in




Snape,



not Hagrid. And I can't recall another time where Dumbledore's life could seriously be said to be in danger, apart from the duel with Voldemort (which didn't involve Hagrid in any way). Dumbledore was driven out of Hogwarts twice, but his life could hardly be said to be in danger either time. He did trust Hagrid with important tasks, but did he ever actually trust Hagrid with his life?



Answer



I searched Accio quote and the books and didn't notice anything.


Frankly, I don't think this can be answered based on current canon.


We don't know of any situation where his life was in danger other than 4 cases that just don't apply for various reasons:




  • Ministry Atrium battle with Voldemort in OotP



    Not clear that it was threatened at all in the first place, and Hagrid was (IIRC) on a mission to giants at the time anyway.




  • Horcrux curse in HBP


    Hagrid would have been useless skill wise. This needed Snape (and even Snape wasn't wholly successful).


    Though, frankly, this is one case where Hagrid would have come in handy. Not AFTER the curse, but because he (since the Horcrux was not a "fun" animal) may have counceled Dumbledore to be careful.


    However, Dumbledore was very adamant that nobody but Harry know about Horcrux search, so he would have clearly NOT wanted Hagrid there.




  • The Horcrux cave in HBP



    First, same objection as #2 - Hagrid was not supposed to find out about Horcrux search.


    Also, possibly he could not be brought into the cave, being an adult wizard (debatable due to his magical powers that were rather low).




  • Astronomy Tower in HBP


    Dumbledore meant to die so Hagrid would have been a hindrance to that plan due to his devotion.




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